Republicans Push Federal Ban On Blocking Interstates After L.A. Riots Cause Highway Chaos

Congressional Republicans are advancing a bill that would make it a federal crime to block interstate highways after mass demonstrations in Los Angeles caused major backups on key roadways.

Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia reintroduced the bill, the Safe Passage on Interstates Act, in February after it stalled in the Senate last year. The legislation would create a federal law against the intentional obstruction of interstate highways.

“There is nothing ‘peaceful’ about the riots and looting we’ve seen in Los Angeles. Blue states and cities have shown that they would rather have lawlessness and disfunction over law and order, and we need to get these people off our streets and in jail where they belong,” Collins told The Daily Wire in a statement. “The Safe Passage on Interstates Act would give [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and [FBI Director] Kash Patel the tools to put an end to highway protests and lock these criminals up.”

The push to give more tools to federal authorities comes after demonstrators have repeatedly flooded the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles, stopping traffic and causing backups. Protesters again took over the freeway on Tuesday evening, until Los Angeles Police Department officers pushed the mob off the freeway onto a parallel road.

Similar demonstrations could break out in major cities across the United States. Protests took place in at least two dozen other major cities on Monday, from Seattle, Washington, to Jacksonville, Florida. Demonstrators marched in opposition to federal authorities enforcing immigration law and deporting illegal aliens.

In statements to The Daily Wire, co-sponsors of the bill and members of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, of which Collins is a member, are pushing Collins’ bill as an antidote to the flashes of anarchy that have broken out on interstate highways. The bill is needed sooner rather than later to prevent riots from spreading throughout the country.

California Rep. Tom McClintock said the bill “will save lives.”

“All Americans have the right to peaceful protest, but when cars are lit on fire and ambulances are blocked on major roadways, it is no longer peaceful,” said McClintock.

Oklahoma Rep. Stephanie Bice blamed the chaos in Los Angeles on “local leaders” such as Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Bice called Collins’ bill “a step towards restoring law and order and safeguarding communities from radical protestors intent on sowing chaos throughout the country.”

Ohio’s Dave Taylor said that “From families driving their children to school, to truck drivers transporting goods, to law enforcement responding to emergencies, we all depend on our Nation’s roads being clear and safe every day.”

Texas Rep. Andy Weber called the bill “more critical than ever.”

“Blocking our highways and disrupting the daily lives of law-abiding Americans is not a form of protest – it’s lawlessness, and it must not be tolerated,” he said.